Signs & Large Format Print
Illustrative visualisationA garden centre has two problems an ordinary shop doesn’t. First, most of the stock stands outside, in rain and full sun, and so do the price tags and descriptions. A paper card in a plastic sleeve is unreadable within a week. Second, the seasons change every few weeks: early spring and seeds, May and bedding plants, summer, autumn planting, chrysanthemums and grave lanterns for All Saints’ Day, then Christmas trees. Each season means a different message by the road and a different area by the entrance.
Garden centre customers walk slowly, read, compare and like to ask for advice. Good department signs and plant descriptions take the pressure off staff on a Saturday, when there is someone with a question in every aisle. And what the customer takes home (a label with care instructions, a leaflet, a gardener’s calendar) brings them back to the same place next season.
1. Road, entrance and car park
Garden centres usually sit on an arterial road or on the edge of town, with a large yard. A driver has a few seconds to spot the entrance and decide to turn in. A permanent sign with the logo plus a changeable banner with the seasonal message is the set-up that works best.
- Totem or pylon at the entrance→Logo, ‘garden centre’, an arrow. Non-illuminated 2.5 m totem from approx. €750 net, illuminated 3 m pylon from approx. €2,070 net without foundation.
- Seasonal fence banners→‘Bedding plants’, ‘Chrysanthemums’, ‘Cut and potted Christmas trees’. A 10 × 2 m banner (20 m²) in coated 510 g PVC is approx. €145 net.
- Flags on poles by the road→A moving flag catches the eye from far away. A 150 × 90 cm flag for a pole is approx. €45 net; have a spare set for the spring season.
2. Department signs in the yard and indoors
A plant yard without signs turns into a maze. The customer is looking for thujas and ends up among ornamental grasses. Department signs should be visible above the plants, in one colour and style, and resistant to watering and sun.
- Department signs: fruit trees, perennials, conifers, pottery, fertilisers→UV-printed Dibond on posts, or suspended indoors. We plan the whole layout in one style and number the aisles.
- Site map at the entrance→A map with departments, tills, toilets and the collection point for large purchases. In season it halves the number of ‘where are the…’ questions.
- Directions to the tills and loading area→A customer with a trolley full of pots needs to know where to bring the car round. Directional signs at the yard exit.
3. Prices and plant descriptions
This is where the material matters most. Plain paper is no good outside, so we use synthetic paper, HIPS or PVC, which don’t go soggy or fade straight away. A good price tag by a plant says what it costs, how big it grows, whether it likes sun and when it flowers.
- HIPS pot stakes and price tags→Cut in a spike shape and pushed into the soil. Photo and description on one side, space for the price on the other. UV-printed HIPS approx. €16–24 net per m².
- Waterproof bed descriptions on synthetic paper→Larger cards by a group of plants with growing needs and price. 160 g synthetic paper approx. €10–16 net per m², doesn’t tear in the rain.
- Labels for pots and the nursery’s own products→Roll labels with the variety name and nursery logo, on film that stands up to watering.
4. Seasons and promotions
Each garden centre season lasts a few weeks and has to be announced before it starts. A leaflet through letterboxes before May, posters at the entrance before All Saints’ Day, a gardener’s calendar at the end of the year for regular customers.
- Seasonal leaflet→Spring offers, tips and coupons. A4 leaflet, 8 pages, 1,000 copies approx. €280 net. Distributed locally or handed out at the till.
- Gardener’s calendar with jobs for each month→What to sow, prune and feed and when, with your logo and phone number. It hangs in the kitchen all year and reminds people where to buy what needs planting next.
- A-board at the entrance with the offer of the week→‘Geraniums 3 for 2’, ‘Chrysanthemums: new delivery’. A double-sided B1 A-board with snap frames is approx. €120 net, and you change the posters yourself every week.
5. For customers and deliveries
Garden centre customers leave with a full boot and often ask for larger trees or compost to be delivered. A branded bag, a planting leaflet and a liveried delivery van are simple things that build the place’s name.
- Branded paper bags→For seeds, bulbs, small accessories and gifts. Kraft bag 240 × 340 × 90 mm with print, 500 pcs approx. €580 net.
- Planting and care leaflets→Folded DL leaflet: how to plant a tree, how to water a lawn, what to feed with. 1,000 pcs approx. €90 net, given with every larger plant.
- Delivery van livery→The van delivering trees and compost drives around the nearby estates. A logo and ‘we deliver plants’ on the side is advertising right where customers with gardens live.
- 01Brief
Description, sizes, site photos and deadline — a few sentences are enough.
- 02Design and quote
Our designers prepare artwork or a visualisation and you get a price.
- 03Approval
You approve the design; for brand colours we provide a proof.
- 04Production
35+ machines in our own plant in Poland: 3.2 m UV print, CNC, laser, 3D, sewing.
- 05Installation or delivery
Own crews and vehicles across Europe, partner network, couriers worldwide.
To start with — an indicative package
Example spring signage for a medium-sized garden centre. Prices from our price list, installation not included.
| Non-illuminated 2.5 m totem at the entrance | from approx. €750 net |
| Seasonal banner 10 × 2 m, coated 510 g (20 m² × approx. €8) | approx. €160 net |
| 8 Dibond department signs 60 × 40 cm (1.92 m² × approx. €55) | approx. €110 net |
| Price tags on synthetic paper, 5 m² (5 × approx. €13) | approx. €65 net |
| A4 leaflet, 8 pages, 1,000 copies | approx. €280 net |
| Printed kraft paper bags, 100 pcs | approx. €185 net |
Indicative net prices; pot stakes and labels are priced by shape and quantity. Exact quote after a short description and photos of the site.
From our experience — what to watch out for
- Don’t use paper price cards in plastic sleeves outdoors. After the first watering, water collects inside and the text runs.
- Hang department signs above the plants, not between them. In May plants grow faster than you expect and within a month they hide signs on short posts.
- Plan the seasonal graphics for the whole year in one go. One base design where only the message and photo change is cheaper and more consistent.
- Order the Christmas tree banner in October and the All Saints’ Day banner in September. In those weeks everyone wants the same thing for the same day.
- Choose film rather than paper for your nursery labels. Pots stand in the damp, and a paper label peels off within days.